The Novelist asks one central question: can you achieve your dreams without pushing away the people you love? The game focuses on Dan Kaplan, a novelist struggling to write the most important book of his career while trying to be the best husband and father he can be.

February 23

Players have been requesting this for quite some time, so I’m very excited to announce that trading cards have been added to The Novelist! There are 6 cards, 3 profile backgrounds, 6 emoticons, and of course 6 badge levels.

It was really fun revisiting the game after a long time away from working on it, and while I’m not sure achievements will ever be the right fit (they might clash with the story content), I think trading cards are a nice addition to the experience.

To celebrate the new feature, I’m also putting the game on sale for 40% off ($8.99). So if you’re looking for some new cards to gather and trade, fire the game up and start collecting!

Reviews

“The Novelist affected me, deeply and painfully ... I frequently cried at the outcomes of the decisions I made for the Kaplan family.”
Rock Paper Shotgun

“While it arrives on the heels of other notable non-combat, story-based games, it still manages to feel fresh and emotionally resonant. This is thanks to sincere, realistic writing and an inspired approach to player choice, which has you picking sides and making difficult compromises in the context of family conflicts.”
Polygon

“The Novelist is the most personal and beautiful game I have ever experienced. The creator, Kent Hudson, has quite plainly poured his heart and soul into this game, and the outcome is genuinely something to behold. Never before have I felt so emotionally involved in the characters, their situation and potential future, as in this truly player-driven story.”
10 out of 10 – GameGrin

About This Game

The Novelist asks one central question: can you achieve your dreams without pushing away the people you love? The game focuses on Dan Kaplan, a novelist struggling to write the most important book of his career while trying to be the best husband and father he can be. The Kaplans have come to a remote coastal home for the summer, unaware that they’re sharing the house with a mysterious ghostly presence: you.

Read the family’s thoughts. Explore their memories. Uncover their desires and intervene in their lives. But stay out of sight; you can’t help the Kaplans if they know there’s a ghost in the house. It’s up to you to decide how Dan’s career and family life will evolve, but choose carefully; there are no easy answers, and every choice has a cost.

Dan’s relationships – to his work, his wife, and his son – react and shift in response to your choices. With a different sequence of events in every playthrough, The Novelist gives life to a unique experience each time you play.

The decisions you make will define the Kaplans’ lives, but they may also tell you something about yourself.

System Requirements

Windows

Mac OS X

SteamOS + Linux

Minimum:

OS: Windows XP SP2 or higher

Processor: 1.8 GHz

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Graphics: 256 MB VRAM video card

Hard Drive: 800 MB available space

Recommended:

OS: Windows 7

Processor: 2 GHz

Memory: 4 GB RAM

Graphics: 512 MB VRAM video card

Minimum:

OS: OS X Lion (10.7) or higher

Processor: 1.8 GHz

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Graphics: 256 MB VRAM video card

Hard Drive: 800 MB available space

Recommended:

OS: OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Processor: 2 GHz

Memory: 4 GB RAM

Graphics: 512 MB VRAM video card

Minimum:

Processor: 1.8 GHz

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Graphics: 256 MB VRAM video card

Hard Drive: 800 MB available space

Additional Notes: Built with Unity 4.3.4, tested in Ubuntu 12.04 and 13.10

The Novelist was an interesting concept. The idea that you are a ghost and you affect someone else's story in a good or bad way is really appealing. Unfortunately, for The Novelist, gameplay variety was lacking, the story (which is the main part of the game) was boring and predictable, and the voice acting was meh.

BASICALLY how the game plays out is this: there are three people in the house. The Father, the Wife, and the Son. The Son wants to do stuff with the Father. The Wife wants to pursue art and have more family time, and the Father must deal with that crap while also trying do his work. Every level, something each character desire changes a little bit, and it is your job to find out what everyone wants, and which two people will get what they want.

Also, you must never be seen by any of the residents or else you will not be able to make them happy. So you get to teleport from light fixture to light fixture. The problem is, you can almost get anywhere without going out of a safe-zone light. This makes the game TOO EASY. Though I wouldn't really expect it from a game like this, there is isn't any sort of progression for your ghostly character gameplay-wise, so your ghostly powers stay the same throughout the game.

The plot is boring and uninteresting as well. Half-way through the game, I realized I didn't care for the characters at all. Everyone is so unhappy all the time, and even if you fix all their dang problems, they're just sad in the next level with more problems to fix. It's honestly most fun to just "level up" the dad and make no one else happy. Then his after story makes him a world renouned author who drinks his nights away in misery because his Wife left him and took the Son. You can go through the game and try to make everyone happy by balancing out their wants, but the game part of it is dull, and the story is predictable.

And also, it doesn't look that great either. If for some reason, you are waffling between this and Dishonored, get Dishonored instead. It also has a predictable story where you can mildly affect the outcome, but the gamey side of it is just so much more fun and enjoyable.

You’re a being, a spectre or ghost. It is never explained. There’s a family of three and the entire game takes place in a small cabin in the woods. The goal? Make decisions for the family.

Gameplay is.. lacking. All you do is move about the house while trying to avoid being seen. Each chapter you need to find a certain amount of items, over and over. Once you’ve found all the items, you can enter the memories of the family members to find three memory snippets, again and again. The items aren’t very well hidden, nor are the snippets which can easily be tracked by listening. This cycle repeats itself for the 9 chapters it counts. It’s mind numbingly repetitive.

The story is tailored towards the choices you make, a promise made in lots of games these days. This game does deliver. For the purpose of this review I’ve ran through the game twice, making different choices each time. I’m avoiding spoilers, but you can choose to truly neglect a family member, with devastating results. While this is pretty interesting, the final outcome is given in a typewriter animation, which fails to make you care about the results.

The Novelist has potential, but it doesn’t utilize a lot of it. It’s not a fun game and it doesn’t have a great story either. While the character are relatable they never really come to life inside the game – only in the diary segments which got narrated. That only leaves you with a tale with an interesting dynamic outcome, but sadly that isn’t enough to make this a recommendable title.

The Kaplans, a seemingly average family who've decided to spend a summer like any other, in a beautiful vacation home similar to that of any coastal holiday residence. Or not? Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear all have down-to-earth aspirations and wishes, but that is all that is normal in this summer home. For you become the sneaky little "Goldilocks" of this household with your stealth abilities to possess flickering lamps and pendant lights, making invisible bounds across the entire Kaplan abode honed over decades of haunting the inhabitants of this house. As the resident ghostly entity minus any ghoulish intent, your new arrivals, the Kaplans will be your brand new pet project. To them it's their lives; to you it's another day at the office helping those unknowingly in need of your insightful guidance. Not only do you gallivant from room to room while becoming some variation of a peeper, you own a penetrative ability which allows you to delve into the minds of family members and look into their recent memories.

Not as bleak as I'd worried it would turn out to be from other reviews, especially by the second month, it was an interesting look into the varying perspectives of individuals making up a family. Though it doesn't provide the depth that such a game could, it did succeed at igniting the interest I had lost for more inanimate genres where clicking objects and reading excerpts from newspaper clippings and diaries to progress a set storyline had become too routine to enjoy. This is especially a great change of pace for those who often spend time playing point and click adventure games and visual novels alike. The stealth aspect adds a light edge to the boredom and personally this vanquished the tedious norm, apparent in similar games, completely. I'd also expect this to be fun for do-gooders like myself who enjoy volunteering their own points of view and choices to others in an attempt to be an aide. Every choice and chapter requires a good deal of sacrifice and has sure consequences. Decisions are difficult and this adds most greatly to the overall suspense and amusement.

Gameplay in Detail (v. mild spoilers) Gameplay is simple enough though the tutorial offered will help accustom you. Across a period of three months, chapters will open up spanning within a single day where you will be greeted with shining letters and blinking objects on various surfaces (truly easy to spot) to click and read/look at so as to get a grasp on the recent affairs of the Kaplan gang. Something will always be of issue and this is reflected in the chapter titles, aptly typed at the beginning of each episode. As you check each clue that has opened up in a new chapter, keep an eye out for single objects which stand out as you will be asked to search for object words for each character later on (becomes a bit of a hidden object game if you don't keep an eye out).

As everyone goes about their lives you will drift from one hanging fixture to the next, making sure not to be spotted. Each family member has the ability to spot you if you are not possessing a light. Every time you are spotted there is a split second to dash to any visible, switched on light you can get to (trickier as you progress). Once you are spotted for longer than a millisecond, the tag suspicious pops up next to the relevant character in the tab menu* and you cannot move to a light and must flee from them and hide till they can no longer see you. If you are spotted again by that same character repeatedly in that episode, they will be spooked and there will be ramifications in relation to the choices you can make. Going through the house successfully in the shadows (or more so the light), you will notice moments during the day when each character will have their back turned so as you can creep up behind them cautiously and peek into their memories with that spectacular penetrative ability I formerly wrote of. Tommy is especially swift so after you peek into his memory it’ll help to be ready to pounce on a nearby lamp as soon as you exit it or he’ll see you. This is as thrilling as The Novelist will ever really get but for a laid-back genre of its kind it is a welcome touch which most players will appreciate.

After this initial accumulative stage, you move on to check the thoughts of each character and receive an object word. With the clues found in a chapter you'll decide who you'd like the story to move in favour of and this is done by clicking the object in relation to this decision. At this point the day will be over and the Kaplans will go to bed.

*The tab menu is a helpful resource to keep you on track of where you are in the game even if you stop halfway and come back and I found that many features in this game focus on keeping the story and immersive qualities intact, their priority.

Night time for the Kaplans is the only time you can walk around without need to be stealthy though you can opt to start the game in story mode instead of stealth mode where stealth is not used (not advised as may end up boring). This felt like a subjectively delightful part of the game as the player is free to stretch and move around the house, reading a new set (two) of letters or journal entries from that of past residents which open up more story for yourself, the entity that has been here long before the Kaplans came and will stay for long after they are gone. It was unfortunate that this wasn't built up on though that would have lengthened the game too much. The house was more detailed than I'd initially expected as it is superficially bland but has strong attention to the minute details (as is important to the story). So it did become a slight compulsion for me to walk down to the kitchen each night and stand by the fridge, listening to the familiar whirring of the motor then stepping back to listen to the heavenly crashing of the waves right outside the door which I lamentably could not open.

Simulation sickness tip While playing I was happy to note that though I am usually hypersensitive, I experienced little nausea with The Novelist. The lack thereof was mostly due to the fact I was hiding in the lights and moving through them which meant a lot of the whizzing about/motion was less dominant. Even at night I would gravitate through the lights at a prompt pace as opposed to sauntering up and down the stairs and around landings as that was invariably sluggish yet still induced ever so slight giddiness.

The idea of a visual novel or point and click adventure game with stealth as the main game mechanic seemed intriguing. It was ironic that stealth could make such games more interactive as well. This was a game I'd waited to go on sale for a while and was intent on playing despite the indifferent reviews, then nabbed as soon as I saw it during the Humble Spring Sale. I expect it has several endings more than the one I stumbled upon but I was satisfied enough with mine in which I kept the choices rounded until the end and then went with Tommy which automatically found a compromise for Linda but didn't end badly at all for Dan (you'll see what this means if you play). It was gruelling to watch the Kaplans jump for joy only to be let down after the next chapter or repeatedly depressed from the choices you make for them and I was constantly trying to find a balance without knowing whether it’d hurt or help. The narrative in this game is well done and immersive but I didn’t enjoy the voice acting for Linda as although Linda seems sweet, I didn’t expect her to sound as young. I may play again in the future to have a go at some bad endings if there are any as I have the devious mind to make Dan a world famous author and live the crazy, disorderly life of the single divorced dad with young university freshers bowing down at his feet.

Do you get enough from monsters and the complex scenarios. The Novelist is the game you need to play to relax your mind. There is no fight and supernatural things. This is a totally warm family story.

Father Dan is a writer who wants be successful in his writing career. Mother is a painter who wants to sell her paintings and be famous. Little boy Tommy is just an innocent little boy and he just wants to play with his toys. You are the invisible person controlling their destiny. You need to make some difficult choices to give what do they want. This game has a good atmosphere and you can feel the responsibility game gives to you.

In The Novelist, your choices really do matter. You can choose your career over family, spending time with your son over working, and so on.

You follow Dan Kaplan, a novelist struggling to write his book. He has a wife and a son. He must choose between his work and spending time with them, and everyone must make compromises. You are spending the summer in a cabin by the coast.

The Gameplay is nothing special, and pretty repetitive. It is very slow-paced, but you can move faster by traveling through light-sources. You must gather various clues around the house, to figure out each characters desires and needs. It does gets repetitive, and does not invite you to play the game for longer periods of time.

The music is very simple and works well with the story. The voice-acting is solid, but nothing spectacular.

The story is the main part of the game, and delivers it pretty well. I tried to make choices that would fit the family best, but always ended up disappointing someone. That made me try to make up for it in the following chapter, which shows that you care for the game & characters, which I did.

I believe that the game is rather good, but should not be purchased at the current price (15 euros) Wait for a sale if you wish to purchase the game :)